Chapter 39: The Carter’s Family Retribution Or Xavier’s

Chapter 39: Chapter 39: The Carter’s Family Retribution Or Xavier’s

Ethan’s parents lived in Longmoon Heights, one of the most heavily protected residential districts in Valemont, where only the city’s most influential families and officials could afford homes.

The entire community was protected by a powerful defensive formation comparable to the one surrounding Arcadia Academy, and an ordinary person could not simply walk through the gates.

But that was not the most important information. Sandy revealed that Ethan’s parents had already issued orders for Xavier and Mira to be dealt with, and the two brothers were not the only ones.

More than ten other martial artists had been dispatched for the same purpose, and the reward offered for completing the job was staggering.

Three hundred million.

That amount was enough to make countless martial artists throw caution aside, since great wealth could drive people to take great risks.

Ethan’s parents had been driven nearly mad by the loss of their only son, and they were no longer interested in patience or investigation.

They wanted revenge.

Xavier remained silent after hearing everything, and his expression gradually became cold.

Until now he had been thinking only about defending himself if the Carter family came after him, but after learning the full situation, another thought emerged.

Perhaps I should end this problem at its source.

There was no point killing one assassin after another if the Carter family could simply keep sending more.

Xavier looked at Sandy.

"Call Ethan’s father and mother," he ordered.

"Yes, Master," Sandy answered obediently, nodding at once.

Xavier’s eyes narrowed.

"Do exactly as I tell you," he said, his voice as cold as ice.

Meanwhile at Longmoon Heights, It was well past nine in the evening, yet inside the spacious villa, dinner remained untouched.

The household staff had prepared an elaborate meal and filled the dining table with dish after dish, but neither Martha nor Pete had the slightest appetite.

Their only son was dead, and no amount of food could make them forget that. The loss had left a hollow ache in both of them, made worse by the fact that the person responsible had not yet been brought to justice.

They knew Ethan had been spoiled. They knew he had a temper and often acted recklessly. But none of that changed one simple fact, which was that he had been their only child, and now he was gone.

Martha sat silently at the table, staring at her phone. Then it suddenly rang, and she answered immediately.

"Rivers?" she said, her expression changing as she listened.

"You’re at the warehouse?" she asked, and a smile slowly appeared on her face.

"Good. Very good. You and Sandy have done well," she praised him, rising from her chair.

"Keep him there," she ordered coldly. "I want to deal with that bastard myself."

After ending the call, Martha reached for her coat, and Pete looked up from his seat.

"Who was that?" he asked.

"The brothers," Martha replied, slipping on her coat. "They’ve caught Xavier."

Pete’s expression changed.

"Where?" he demanded.

"The company’s warehouse on Eastshore Road," she answered, her eyes gleaming with hatred. "He’s already in their hands."

She turned toward her husband.

"Are you coming?" she asked.

Pete did not answer immediately. Unlike his wife, he had spent more time looking into what had actually happened at the plaza, and he had no reason to believe Xavier was the one who directly killed Ethan.

From everything he had learned, Xavier had been standing farther away when Ethan died.

More importantly, Xavier’s publicly known cultivation was only at the Body Tempering level, and there was no obvious way for someone at that level, especially an ordinary alchemy apprentice with no powerful background, to kill Ethan from a distance without anyone noticing.

Logically, Xavier should have been innocent, but Pete did not care.

His son had wanted Xavier dead and had even deployed a powerful puppet to kill him.

As far as Pete was concerned, whatever happened afterward did not change the fact that Xavier had been involved in the conflict, and he wanted to fulfill his son’s final wish.

Still, something about the situation bothered him.

"Didn’t Xavier move into Arcadia Academy?" Pete asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Yes," Martha said, pausing.

"Then why would he leave the academy this late at night?" he pressed, frowning. "And how exactly did Rivers and Sandy manage to capture him so easily?"

If he were in Xavier’s position, he would stay inside Arcadia Academy and refuse to step outside, especially after knowing that the Carter family was looking for him.

Martha waved away his concerns.

"You’re overthinking this," she scoffed. "Rivers and Sandy have worked for us for years. They called to say they’ve captured him, so what more do you need?"

She grabbed her bag, and her expression hardened.

"Are you coming or not?" she snapped. "Because I’m going whether you come with me or not. I want to kill him myself."

Pete stared at her for a moment before finally standing.

"Of course I’m coming," he said at last.

He went upstairs to change. Even though the strange feeling remained, he eventually pushed it aside, because Xavier was just an insignificant martial artist in his eyes, and perhaps the young man had simply made a foolish decision by leaving the academy.

Still, as Pete stepped outside, that uneasiness refused to disappear.

He stopped beside the car and pulled out his phone, because there was one person he wanted with them.

"Lucas, I’m heading to the warehouse," he said.

The man on the other end had already been resting for the night.

"Come with us," Pete added firmly.

Lucas was the strongest bodyguard in the Carter family’s Valemont branch, a peak ninth star Foundation Establishment martial artist.

With him there, Pete felt much more secure. Soon the three of them set off toward Eastshore Road.

* * *

Inside one of the Carter family’s warehouses, Xavier was busy examining his latest gains.

"Second grade recovery pills," he murmured, picking one up and looking at it.

"Second grade vitality pills," he scoffed, tossing it aside. "All pretty useless."

Rivers and Sandy had worked for the Carter family for nine years, so naturally they had accumulated quite a bit of wealth.

Unfortunately, most of their valuable possessions had been kept in Rivers’ spatial ring. Xavier searched through it carefully and found more than twenty pills ranging from the first to the second grade, some cash, several miscellaneous pieces of equipment, and a single object about the size of a fist.

His hand stopped, and his eyes immediately brightened.

"A spirit stone?" he breathed, lifting it up.

Unlike ordinary cultivation resources, spirit stones naturally condensed spiritual energy.

They were divided into four grades of low, medium, high, and supreme, with each successive grade containing denser and purer energy.

Even a low grade spirit stone was exceptionally valuable, and it was not something that could simply be purchased with money, since connections and access were often more important than wealth.

According to Sandy, the stone had been given to the brothers years ago by Ethan’s father after they once saved Ethan’s life.

Because neither brother had particularly impressive cultivation talent, they had never been willing to use such a precious resource, and its spiritual energy was still almost completely intact.

Xavier could not help smiling.

Looks like taking risks really can pay.

More importantly, this was not merely a valuable resource. It could become an investment, because if the system worked as he expected, giving this spirit stone to Mira could potentially bring him an even greater return.

That thought alone improved his mood considerably.

The brothers’ savings were another matter.

Most of their money had been kept in bank accounts rather than physical cash, and Xavier could not afford to have his movements traced back to himself, so he had no intention of touching those accounts.

He was not particularly bothered, though. Once his investment cycle began producing substantial returns, money would no longer be his biggest concern, and even a single third grade pill could potentially be sold for a fortune.

Compared with that, a little lost cash was not worth worrying about.

Then a car horn sounded outside with two sharp beeps, and Xavier’s expression instantly became serious.

"They’re here," he whispered.

He moved silently toward the warehouse entrance and concealed himself beside the door. Then he gave Sandy an order.

"Open it," he commanded quietly.

Under the control of the Life and Death Talisman, Sandy obeyed without hesitation, and the warehouse door slowly opened.

Martha and Pete stepped inside, with Lucas following closely behind them. Martha immediately looked toward Sandy.

"Sandy, where is that bastard..." she demanded.

Lucas suddenly grabbed both of them before she could finish.

"Wait," he barked, and his expression changed.

"Don’t move," he hissed.

Martha and Pete froze. Lucas narrowed his eyes, because something was wrong.

Sandy’s expression was strangely unnatural, and there was something else as well, a heartbeat coming from behind the door.

Lucas’s senses sharpened. If Rivers were still alive, he would have come out with Sandy, and if he had been left to guard Xavier, there was no reason for him to be hiding there.

That meant someone else was standing behind the door.

"Something isn’t right," Lucas warned.

But he was already too late.

The instant he finished speaking, an overwhelming force descended upon the warehouse.